


Better Days

by regenderate



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 04:33:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18843721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regenderate/pseuds/regenderate
Summary: Something is chasing the TARDIS, and the Doctor uses the Chameleon Arch to become human. The TARDIS, always ready to enable a paradox, crashes into 2004 London, and the human Doctor (known to her friends as Penny) gets a job in a department store while Yaz, Ryan, and Graham try their best to provide support, even when Yaz is strangely jealous of the Doctor's new friend.





	Better Days

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hetzi_clutch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hetzi_clutch/gifts).



> this was hetzi's prompt! she put it in the fanzine discord and then @'ed me so i figured i should write it. thanks hetzi!

**Day 1**

 

The TARDIS crashed right smack in the middle of London, the Doctor passed out on the floor, Yaz barely able to stand, Graham and Ryan both slumped against the console. 

Slowly, Yaz pushed herself to her feet. The Doctor had done something to herself with a helmet, but her garbled explanation hadn’t actually explained much— Yaz just knew, almost instinctively, that they had to get the Doctor out of the TARDIS before she woke up. She hoisted the Doctor up, and Ryan picked himself up and took her other side. They walked out of the TARDIS together.

They managed to get the Doctor across the street and around the corner and settled on a bench to wait as the sun set. 

The Doctor woke up somewhere between two and three in the morning. She barely registered Yaz, Graham, and Ryan, all still awake on the bench, instead mumbling something about needing to get home and immediately starting to walk. 

Yaz jumped up to follow, Graham and Ryan trailing behind. They followed the Doctor through a side street and around a couple corners until they were at a council estate. Remembering the Doctor had said there’d be enough recognition in whatever was going on to let her friends in, Yaz took a deep breath, hoped she was right, and followed the Doctor into a flat.

The Doctor didn’t turn on any lights, and Yaz didn’t dare. In the darkness, though, she could make out a barebones living room, and as the Doctor went through a doorway she noticed a small kitchen. The Doctor went into one room, and Yaz went through a different doorway to find a small room with a bed and small window.

Her phone buzzed. She picked it up. It was Ryan.

_ Ryan: yaz what r u doing _

_ Yaz: hoping this works. _

She curled up on the bed, still fully dressed, and fell asleep on the bare mattress.

 

**Day 2**

Yaz woke up to almost sixty texts from Ryan:

_ Ryan: wtf yaz _

_ Ryan: where r we supposed to sleep _

_ Ryan: cmon  _

_ Ryan: u know its 2004 right _

_ Ryan: w/e were going back to the tardis _

Her phone, always accurate to the local time and date, said it was only eight in morning, which was good news for the part of Yaz that needed to figure stuff out, but bad news for the part that needed to get some sleep. She rubbed her eyes with a sigh and got up.

The Doctor was already in the kitchen. Of course she was. She looked up as Yaz came in.

“Morning,” she said, her tone disinterested. She opened the fridge. “Goodness, I’ve got to do some shopping, haven’t I?”

Yaz nodded, afraid to say anything. 

“Suppose I should see about getting a job, too,” the Doctor added, closing the fridge. “Moved here without any sort of plan.”

Yaz nodded again.

“Still surprised it was so easy to find a roommate,” the Doctor added. “Hope this works out, Yasmin.”

“Yaz,” Yaz corrected automatically.

“Yaz, then,” the Doctor said. “And you call me Penny. Roommates should be friends too, yeah?”

“’Course,” Yaz said, and she tried to think how she was going to get a job in 2004 London.

 

**Day 3**

The Doctor— or, Penny, maybe— had somehow immediately managed to get a job at a department store with no references and barely an address.

Yaz hadn’t had such luck. 

All her credentials— police work, EMT training, and so on— were completely useless when all of her certificates and ID cards said they were from 2018. She was considering enrolling in a new EMT course just for the chance to do something she actually liked. Ryan and Graham were hoping to move into the flat next door; Ryan had gotten hired at the same department store as the Doctor, and Graham had already gotten an interview with a bus company. So their rent was paid; it was only Yaz who had to worry. 

Still, Yaz thought the whole thing was going all right, except she couldn’t quite figure out what the Doctor had done. They had been running from something, sure, but Yaz hadn’t understood what, and then the Doctor was yelling instructions like, “Don’t let me eat pears!” and, “If I tell you about weird dreams, just nod along,” and, “don’t let me lose this watch. This watch is me,” while she ran around the TARDIS. And now the Doctor was acting like a regular woman named Penny and living in a flat with someone she’d never met, and Yaz couldn’t figure out whether or not this was supposed to happen. 

 

**Day 7**

It had been a week since they’d arrived in London.

Nothing much had happened. Yaz had started her EMT class— it was an eight-day class at the hospital, just down the street from the department store. She kept going down at lunch to keep an eye on Penny, but she could tell Penny was starting to get suspicious. 

And at some point during the week, Yaz had realized that Penny really  _ wasn’t  _ the Doctor— sure, she was excitable, but she was much more self-conscious than the Doctor had ever been, and a little bit of a mess. She was never home, and when she was, she was making food from ungodly ingredient combinations and forgetting to wash her dishes until the next day. Not to mention that she was constantly losing her things and tearing the flat apart before realizing she’d had whatever it was in her hand (or under her bed, or on the counter) all along. But somehow she always managed to get up on time and dress nicely enough for work, and she did get to the dishes eventually, so Yaz didn’t say anything. 

 

**Day 10**

Graham and Ryan were getting restless. 

“How much longer are we going to be here?” Graham asked when they met in the TARDIS.

“I don’t know,” Yaz said. “Hope this EMT course wasn’t for nothing.”

“Of course  _ that’s  _ what you’re worried about,” Ryan said. “Rest of us are all out here trying to save the universe and all.”

“You’d worry, too, if you’d spent your last eight days retaking a class you aced,” Yaz said. 

“If we wind up stuck here long enough,” Graham added, “you could go back in for your NVQ.”

“We wind up stuck here that long, I’ll hijack the TARDIS myself,” Ryan said. 

Yaz wanted to hear a gurgle or a chime from the TARDIS, but she heard nothing— the TARDIS had been dark and dull since the Doctor had left. She walked back to the flat deep in thought.

 

**Day 14**

There was a lull after Yaz finished her EMT class— she was going to start work with the hospital soon, but for now she was just hanging around the flat, flipping through channels and trying to figure out how to fit into 2004 culture. It was boring, really, but Ryan and Graham were busy, and Yaz didn’t have anywhere in particular to go. 

Which meant she was home when Penny brought a friend back to the flat.

Yaz was sitting on the living room sofa when Penny came in, already laughing as she opened the door.

“You’re full of it,” a girl’s voice said. Yaz craned her neck to see a flash of blonde hair and a pink T shirt.

“Promise you, it’s  _ good _ ,” Penny replied. “I don’t invite people over for just anything.” 

Yaz stood up, feeling a strange pang of something. She couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Who’s your friend?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound bitter. 

“Oh, hi, Yaz,” Penny said. “Thought you’d be at your class.”

“That ended,” Yaz said. “I start work next week.”

“Oh, congratulations!” Penny said. To her friend, she said, “Yaz’s been training to be an EMT.”

Yaz didn’t say that she had already been an EMT. 

“That’s amazing,” Penny’s friend said. 

“Isn’t it?” Penny grinned. “Anyway. Yaz, Rose. Rose, Yaz. Rose works with me in the shop. She’s brilliant.”

“Not so sure about that,” Rose said.

“Nice to meet you,” Yaz said, right over whatever reassurance Penny was about to give to Rose. The name sounded familiar, like she should be aware of something, but Yaz couldn’t figure out why— she had never met anyone named Rose. 

“You too,” Rose said.

“Rose says custard creams won’t taste any good dipped in pickle juice,” Penny explained.

“Rose is right,” Yaz said. The Doctor had once tried to get Yaz to try the same combination; it hadn’t been good, to say the least. The pang of whatever-it-was got stronger. 

“We’ll see,” Penny said, and she pulled Rose into the kitchen by one arm. Yaz went back to her room, ignoring the laughs and shouts from the kitchen. 

Her phone buzzed.

_ Ryan: hold up did i just see the dr bringin someone home _

_ Yaz: yeah, some girl from work _

_ Ryan: oooohhhhh docs bringin home GIRLS _

_ Yaz: what does that mean??? _

_ Ryan: u know ;) _

_ Ryan: p sure she swings that way _

_ Yaz: whatever _

She tossed her phone aside and picked up one of her EMT books. First aid made sense— there were procedures, there were protocols, there were questions and answers and plans. No weird emotions about her newly human flatmate and her blonde friend.

But the unfamiliar emotions were still there, bubbling up, and finally Yaz put her book to the side and fell back onto the bed. Lying on her back, she looked up at the ceiling and tried to figure it out.

Penny having a new friend was weird.

Why was it weird?

After all, it was normal to have friends. 

It was weird because Penny wasn’t really Penny, she was the Doctor, and her new friend wouldn’t know that.

It was weird because Penny was definitely being a little flirtatious with this friend, or maybe Yaz was just imagining that, but either way, it was hard to think of the Doctor being romantic, and now Penny was being all flirty with a girl from the shop.

It was weird because Yaz hadn’t realized the Doctor was even into women, or into anybody, really, and now Penny, who was sort of the Doctor, was maybe into a woman, and Yaz was—

Well.

It was just that— 

_ Yaz  _ was the one the Doctor dragged into the kitchen to try new things.

_ She  _ was the one the Doctor introduced to new people.

_ She  _ was the one the Doctor called brilliant.

She sighed. All this time travel stuff would have been much easier if she hadn’t gotten so attached to the time traveler. 

 

**Day 15**

 

Yaz told Graham about Penny’s new friend the next day in the TARDIS. 

“Her name’s Rose,” she said. “Do we do anything about it?”

Graham was silent for a moment. 

“I don’t think so,” he said. “We have to let her live her life, don’t we?”

“I guess,” Yaz said. “Just feels weird. Human Doctor, having human friends. It’s so normal.”

Suddenly, Graham laughed, and Yaz narrowed her eyes.

“What?”

“I know what it is,” Graham said. “You’re jealous!”

“Am not!” Yaz exclaimed, a little too fast and a little too loud to be convincing. 

Just then, Ryan burst in. 

“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“Yaz is jealous of Penny’s new friend,” Graham said.

“I’m not!” Yaz repeated.

“Oh, you so are,” Ryan said. 

Yaz rolled her eyes.

“I don’t suppose there are any real updates,” she said.

“Nope,” Ryan said. 

“Great,” Yaz said. “Then I’m out. Got to get ready for work tomorrow.”

 

**Day 19**

 

The EMT thing was  _ hard _ , it turned out. Much harder than police, or at least the parking disputes Yaz had been assigned back in Sheffield. It meant she barely had time to recover from the long days, much less monitor Penny. 

Fortunately, Ryan and Graham were keeping an eye on her, and doing a good job of it, saying hello in the halls, socializing at work, stopping by with a misplaced package, generally covering for Yaz’s absence.

It was Yaz’s third day as an EMT. She was exhausted, but she was also exhilarated. She was useful, she was helping people, and sometimes it was gross or scary or sad, but Yaz was thriving. It felt sort of like when they had been on that Tsuranga ship and the whole thing had been moments from blowing up when Yaz and the Doctor baited the Pting into the airlock— it was the same sort of adrenaline, the same problem-solving, the same sense of importance. Yaz was already thinking that when she got back to Sheffield she’d have to look into a career change. 

But in all the excitement, she had half-forgotten Penny and her new friend and the consequences of Penny making any strong attachments. Until she got home around eight at night, ready to fling herself onto the sofa, and found Penny and Rose already there, watching telly. Their shoulders were touching, Yaz noticed, even though the sofa was large enough for them to have some space. 

“Hello, Yaz,” Penny said as Yaz shut the door behind her. “Hope it’s all right Rose is here.”

“Yeah, fine,” Yaz said, too tired to care much. “I’ll just be making my dinner.”

“Hi, Yaz,” Rose said with a shy wave. 

“Hey,” Yaz said, and went through to the kitchen, where she made the fastest meal she could and tried not to listen to Penny and Rose laughing together in the next room.

 

**Day 21**

 

_ Ryan: yaz _

_ Ryan: yaz _

_ Ryan: yaz _

_ Ryan: yaz _

_ Ryan: yaz _

_ Yaz: Ryan you’re texting like the Doctor _

_ Yaz: what’s up? _

_ Ryan: i figured out why roses name sounds so familiar _

_ Yaz: what do you mean? _

_ Ryan: u said it sounded familiar _

_ Ryan: remember _

_ Yaz: yeah I guess _

_ Ryan: yep _

_ Ryan: i was just pokin around in the tardis _

_ Ryan: trying to find better clothes for 2004 _

_ Ryan: but tht doesnt matter _

_ Ryan: anyway _

_ Ryan: found a pic _

_ Ryan: hold up _

_ <attachment: photo_184832929> _

_ Yaz: oh my god _

_ Ryan: yep _

_ Ryan: thats her rite _

_ Yaz: …yeah _

_ Yaz: what does this mean? _

_ Ryan: drs met rose before _

_ Yaz: what do we do??? _

_ Ryan: not sure  _

_ Yaz: emergency meeting? _

_ Ryan: ill tell graham _

_ Yaz: cool, I’ll be in the TARDIS in 10 _

 

It actually took her more like fifteen minutes to get there, but given that Ryan had texted her just as her shift had ended, she thought that was pretty impressive. Ryan and Graham were already there, Graham leaning against one of the mostly-dark crystals, Ryan mostly horizontal on the floor. He sat up when he saw Yaz.

“Cool, you’re here,” he said. “What do you think?”

Yaz had been thinking about this pretty much non-stop since Ryan had texted her. 

“Not sure,” she said. “I don’t know that there’s any harm in them being friends, as long as Rose doesn’t find out who Penny really is.”

“Have we figured out whether or not she’s met the Doctor yet?” Graham asked.

“I doubt it,” Yaz said. “She doesn’t seem like she’s had a lot of adventures in her life.”

“Do you think the TARDIS’d give us more information?” Ryan asked. He reached up and tapped at the console. “Please?”

Yaz eyed the dull central crystal. 

“I don’t think it’s awake,” she said. 

“Worth a shot,” Ryan said.

“If she doesn’t know the Doctor yet,” Graham said, “aren’t we risking some sort of horrible confusion?”

“Deffo,” Ryan said.

“To be fair, the Doctor’s life is pretty much entirely horrible confusion,” Yaz said. “And Penny really isn’t the Doctor. She’s definitely different. Plus, she met us just after she changed, remember? So she probably had a different face when she knew Rose before.”

“So you’re saying that as long as Penny doesn’t remember who she is, it’ll be all right?” Graham asked.

“I think so,” Yaz said.

“And what happens when she does remember?” Ryan asked.

“I guess she’ll figure out what to do,” Yaz said.

“Works for me,” Ryan said. “Can’t exactly go around trying to separate their friendship, after all.”

“Exactly,” Yaz said. “We’re in agreement?”

“Seems like it,” Graham said.

Ryan nodded.

“Great,” Yaz said. “See you two later?”

They said their goodbyes, and Yaz headed back to the flat, turning everything over in her mind. Rose. She couldn’t quite remember when the Doctor had mentioned the name. 

The Doctor had said Yaz reminded her of Rose once. That was it. She had said Yaz was brilliant, and her smile when faced with danger reminded the Doctor of her old friend Rose. 

Yaz’s chest felt empty. Once in the flat, she went straight to her room and tried to distract herself with books. It didn’t work.

She missed the Doctor.

 

**Day 22**

 

It was a Saturday. Yaz still woke up at eight— she had a shift scheduled later, anyway, so it was best to be prepared. Penny had a day off, but she rarely woke up before noon, so Yaz went to the kitchen, expecting to be alone.

Instead, she saw Rose, sitting on the living room sofa in a pair of Penny’s pajama pants and looking a little adrift.

“Morning,” Yaz said over the kitchen counter. 

Rose jumped.

“Morning,” she said. “Sorry, I just didn’t want to wake Penny.”

“Good call,” Yaz said, pulling a box of cereal out of a cabinet. “She never gets up this early if she can help it.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Rose said. She yawned. “Might be a bit early for me, too.”

Yaz poured her cereal and drowned it in milk.

“D’you want any food?” she asked. “I have cereal. Maybe eggs, too.”

“Nah,” Rose said. “Never liked eating in the mornings.”

“Fair enough,” Yaz said. She stuck a spoon in her cereal and moved into the living room, sitting down next to Rose. The sunrise was giving a soft glow through the window. “Didn’t know you were here.”

“Sorry,” Rose said.

“It’s all right,” Yaz said. “You and th— Penny seem close.”

Rose looked down at that, a faint smile on her face.

“Yeah,” she said. “She’s nice.”

“You’re not— together, are you?” Yaz asked.

“No,” Rose said, looking up at Yaz with a jolt. “Nothing like that. I— I have a boyfriend.”

“But you’re spending the night in Penny’s bed?” 

Yaz took a bite of her cereal.

Rose blushed.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Thought I was straight.”

“So did I,” Yaz said. She hadn’t meant to say it— she hadn’t even fully realized it. But in that moment, she realized it was true. She had thought she was straight, and she definitely wasn’t. “Only I met this woman, and she was really brilliant. And I couldn’t stop thinking about her all the time, and I always wanted to be with her. Turns out I was into her, big time.” 

“What did you do?” Rose asked.

“Don’t know,” Yaz said. “Haven’t done it yet. Won’t see her for a while, in any case, so it doesn’t matter.”

Rose laughed.

“Fat lot of good you are,” she said.

“Oi, I’m plenty good,” Yaz said. “Just don’t have the life experience to back it up. I’m only twenty, you know.”

“I’m eighteen,” Rose confessed. 

“So you’ve got plenty of time to work things out,” Yaz said. 

“Suppose so,” Rose said. 

“So,” Yaz said. “Want to see if there’s anything on the telly? We watch loud enough and Penny might even wake up.”

“I doubt it,” Rose said. “She seemed pretty fast asleep.”

“Sounds like a challenge,” Yaz said, but when she turned on the television she made sure the volume was low. She found a channel playing cartoons, and she and Rose settled in to watch (keeping, Yaz noted, a respectable distance between them).

Yaz was just getting up to get ready for her shift when Penny emerged from her room, her hair a tangled cloud above her head, squinting in the light.

“What happened to Rose?” she asked as Yaz passed her doorway. 

“She’s in the living room,” Yaz said. “Been keeping her entertained, don’t worry.”

“Oh,” Penny said, looking a little taken aback. “Thanks, then.”

“No problem,” Yaz said, and passed Penny to get into her room. 

As she left for her shift, she noticed Penny and Rose on the sofa again, shoulders touching.

 

**Day 24**

 

_ Graham: Saw something weird earlier. _

_ Graham: Think it might be related to whatever we were running from. _

_ Graham: Looked like one of those giant spiders, but with armor and more legs. _

_ Yaz: where? _

_ Graham: On my way home from the depot. _

_ Yaz: oh no _

_ Yaz: what do we do? _

_ Ryan: gotta fight right _

_ Yaz: how??? _

_ Graham: I’m not sure I’m up for that. _

_ Ryan: yeah we get it ur old _

_ Ryan: yaz?????? _

_ Yaz: no!  _

_ Yaz: I mean maybe if we can’t get the Doctor back in time _

_ Yaz: do we get her back??? _

_ Ryan: maybe wait til we know 4 sure they found us _

_ Yaz: seems like they found us! _

_ Graham: Are you suggesting we should wait for last-minute danger before we act? _

_ Ryan: sort of yeah _

_ Yaz: no way! _

_ Graham: He has a point. Part of this is evasion, is it not? There’s a chance they’ll leave without us. _

_ Ryan: NVM NO CHANCE NO CHANCE _

_ Ryan: THERES ONE OUTSIDE THE WINDOW _

_ Ryan: ABORT ABORT _

_ Ryan: YAZ CAN U GET THE DRS WATCH THING  _

_ Yaz: NO! I’m on my way to an emergency! _

_ Ryan: THIS IS AN EMERGENCY _

_ Yaz: I don’t know where she keeps it but it’s definitely in her room or on her person somewhere _

_ Yaz: don’t know if either of you can get to it but please try _

_ Yaz: I’ll be home asap but I can’t just abandon this! lives are at stake _

_ Ryan: YEAH LIVES ARE AT STAKE! IT’S OUR LIVES YAZ! OUR LIVES ARE AT STAKE! _

_ Yaz: sry gtg _

_ Ryan: w/e :-(  _

_ Ryan: guess ill go find a watch _

_ Ryan: graham b back asap! _

_ Graham: Got it. _

 

By the time Yaz responded to the emergency, faked sick, and got back to the flat, she was faced with a strange scene. Ryan was outside the door to her flat, yelling, and three strange armored spider-like creatures, taller than Ryan and twice as long, were crammed around him on the balcony, clicking ominously. Yaz let out a relieved breath when she realized they hadn’t hurt him and didn’t seem to be planning to, only to tense up again when she heard a voice behind her. It was Penny.

“What’s going on?” 

Yaz barely registered the spider creatures turning as she whirled around. There was Penny, hand in hand with Rose.

“Penny!” Yaz yelled. She ran towards her. “Penny, do you have a pocketwatch? Gold? Funny marks on the outside?”

Penny blinked.

“I suppose,” she said. “Don’t think about it much, do I?”

“Where is it?” Yaz asked. “Sorry, I wouldn’t ask, but it’s important.”

Penny patted at her jacket. 

“Not on me,” she said. “Must be inside.” She took a step forward, towards the staircase, but the spider creatures clicked menacingly, and Penny immediately froze.

“I’ll get it,” Yaz said. “Stay here. Ryan, protect them!”

“What’s happening?” Rose asked.

“Sorry,” Yaz said. “Can’t explain. Don’t want to cause a paradox.”

“What?”

Yaz didn’t answer. She just ran, across the pavement, up the stairs. The spider creatures didn’t bother her as she pushed past them— their armor felt almost like Jello, Yaz registered, but that fact seemed far away, the least important thing in Yaz’s mind. She unlocked the door and darted inside, her breath heavy the same way it was when she was trying to find a patient. She ran into Penny’s room, said a silent apology, and started rifling through Penny’s things. Her room was a cluttered mess, of course it was, and Yaz dug through three drawers of junk before finding the watch.

She ran back outside. The minute she left the flat, the spider creatures began to advance on her— she looked at the watch in her hand, which was leaking a gold energy she remembered from just after she met the Doctor, and decided there was only one option.

She held the watch in both hands, bent her knees, and launched it over the railing. 

The spider creatures immediately backed off. They began to scurry down the stairs, and Yaz ran to the railing.

The watch had shattered. 

Golden energy was flowing in a steady stream from it to Penny— to the Doctor— to the woman staggering, still holding Rose’s hand, her eyes shut tight in pain, her muscles tensed. Yaz watched as the energy dispersed, and suddenly the Doctor was opening her eyes, turning, registering the woman next to her, registering the spider creatures, registering Yaz still on the balcony, Ryan in front of her. 

“Doctor!” Yaz called. “They’ve found us!”

The Doctor was staring at Rose, opening and closing her mouth.

“Doctor!” Yaz called again. She looked around. The spider creatures were advancing, Ryan was trying to hold them off, Rose was looking lost— and the Doctor was still staring. In a moment of frustration, Yaz made a decision. She raced down the stairs, practically leaping past the spider creatures, and tackled the Doctor, pushing her to the ground.

“Oi!” the Doctor exclaimed. “What was that for?”

“Focus on the problem!” Yaz said, still on top of the Doctor. She felt suddenly awkward and rolled off, mumbling an apology

The Doctor lifted her head and looked around. Seeing the spider creatures, her mouth dropped open, and she jumped to her feet.

“I know you,” she said. “You were—”

The spider creatures clicked at her.

“Oh, all right, fine,” the Doctor said, mostly to herself. “If you insist.” She started clicking back in the spider creature language, an inhuman collection of sounds coming from her mouth. Yaz stepped back and fell into place next to Rose.

“You okay?” she asked.

“What’s happening?” Rose asked. “Is Penny some sort of superhero?”

“Something like that,” Yaz said. 

The Doctor was still clicking back and forth with the spider creatures. Yaz watched as her gestures grew more and more animated, her face grew more and more serious, until finally the spider creatures backed away.

Ryan came up next to Yaz.

“Is that it?” he asked. 

“Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on here?” Rose asked.

Yaz didn’t say anything. She was watching the Doctor with bated breath. The spider creatures had backed off, but the Doctor was watching them with the same look she had when she sonicked something and it hadn’t exploded yet— the look she had when she was waiting to see what would happen.

And then the spider creatures took another step back, and the Doctor relaxed, and Yaz let out her breath.

“I think it’s done,” she said.

Slowly, the Doctor turned. She seemed almost surprised to see Rose, Yaz, and Ryan standing there, and for a moment she didn’t move.

“Penny?” Rose asked. 

“Sorry,” the Doctor said. “Not Penny. And I really shouldn’t be here.”

She approached, and Yaz could see a sadness settling into her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Rose,” the Doctor said, taking one of Rose’s hands in both of her own. “I have to go.”

“Who are you?” Rose asked.

“I can’t tell you,” the Doctor said. “Sorry. But you’ll see me again.” She held eye contact with Rose for a moment more, and then, not letting go of Rose’s hand, she turned her gaze to Ryan and Yaz. “Where’s Graham?”

“On his way,” Ryan said.

“I’ll text him,” Yaz added, taking out her phone.

“Thanks,” the Doctor said. She gave Rose one last look.

“Goodbye, Rose,” she said, and then she turned away.

 

**After**

 

“Who was she?” Yaz asked. She was in the TARDIS kitchen with the Doctor, drinking tea and thinking about the past month. 

“An old friend,” the Doctor said.

Yaz sipped her tea. “Seemed nice.”

“She was brilliant,” the Doctor agreed. “Been a thousand years and I still think about her.” She shrugged. “Suppose it’s like that with everyone.” Something about the Doctor’s tone made Yaz doubt that, but she let it go.

“What even happened back there?” Yaz asked. “The spider things just sort of left.”

“I talked them down,” the Doctor said. “Time Lords took over their planet ages back, and now there’s a faction trying to kill all the Time Lords. Reasonable enough, I suppose, but I fought against that whole thing, and they’ll be hard-pressed to find any other Time Lords.”

“We hid for a month,” Yaz said. “And all you needed to do was talk them down?”

“To be fair, I didn’t know that at the time,” the Doctor said. “And they were angry! I couldn’t have asked.”

Yaz shrugged. 

“Guess not,” she said. “Was an all right month, anyway. Learned some stuff. Got to meet one of your old friends.”

The Doctor exhaled.

“You weren’t supposed to,” she said. “Rose is— I’m not meant to see her again.”

“How do you know?” Yaz asked.

“She’s gone,” the Doctor said, her voice breaking. “Been gone for years now. In a parallel universe. Happy, but I can’t see her.”

“You can’t jump across?” Yaz asked.

“I’d tear apart the universe,” the Doctor said, her voice low, her gaze fixed a few inches ahead of her. For a moment, Yaz didn’t doubt the Doctor’s willingness to do just that, jump across, tear apart the world.

And then the Doctor’s gaze shifted, and the sense of recklessness dissipated. 

“Can’t do that,” she added. “Quite like the universe.”

“I’m sorry,” Yaz said.

The Doctor shook her head.

“Don’t be,” she said. “Been a thousand years for me, since I said goodbye. Rose is happy. I— well— I have my better days. Being with you lot helps.”

“You said—” Yaz began, and then hesitated. “You said I reminded you of her.”

The Doctor looked at Yaz then, looked her right in the eye. 

“You do,” she said. “You’re both so— so young. So hungry for adventure. So brilliant.”

Yaz’s heart felt warm all of a sudden.

“Let me know,” she said. “If you ever need anything. A cup of tea, someone to talk to, a hug.”

“Yasmin Khan,” the Doctor said. “I could always do with a hug.”

Yaz laughed and got up, stepping around the table to where the Doctor was sitting. The Doctor stood, and Yaz hugged her, holding her close and hoping maybe this could be one of the better days.

**Author's Note:**

> EMT Yaz is honestly my favorite concept and I will find ways to shove it into every fic I write to be honest. I have no clue how long it takes to get EMT certified, especially in the UK in 2004, but my Wilderness First Responder course was eight days and that was a whole lot of medical knowledge. so this one goes out to everyone I know taking WFR right now I guess (because it's that time of year for people leading trips with my college), and please excuse all inaccuracies in the name of art
> 
> update: it has been pointed out to me that I literally could have just given Yaz psychic paper so. pretend I did that instead


End file.
